South Alabama, Ole Miss reach deal to play football in 2017

Chip English/CorrespondentSouth Alabama coach Joey Jones said he is excited about having the opportunity to play Ole Miss down the road.

South Alabama has signed a contract with a fourth SEC team for a future football game, agreeing to a deal that will have the Jaguars traveling to Ole Miss for a game during the 2017 season.

The announcement was made by the school at 3 p.m. Thursday.

Ole Miss joins Tennessee (2013), LSU (2016) and Mississippi State (2012, '14 and '16) as SEC teams on future Jaguars' schedules. The Rebels join a growing list of recent additions to future schedules that also includes Oklahoma State, Tulane and Southern Miss.

The exact date of the Ole Miss game is Sept. 2, 2017 and it will be the season-opener for the Jags, who are also scheduled to play Oklahoma State in Mobile that season.

"This is a chance for us to play a nationally known program and, along with that, playing an opponent within a reasonable driving distance for our fans," South Alabama director of athletics Dr. Joel Erdmann said. "We've done our best to plan the climb to FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) as best we can with a reasonable balance of challenges and success."

Erdmann said the decision to add teams such as Ole Miss is popular with fans as well as prospects who want to play at a high level of competition.

Coach Joey Jones said the Ole Miss game is one the Jags will look forward to playing as the team moves forward in its growth.

"Obviously, it's on ongoing list of teams we want to play," Jones said. "It's great for our program. We're excited about all of that. It's down the road a ways, but we're excited about it.

"I think the SEC is obviously the best conference in the country. And we can drive there instead of spending $70,000 to fly someplace, and we can play as great an opponent as we could get by going off somewhere else."

Playing the Rebels to open the 2017 season adds to the addition of Ole Miss to the schedule, Jones said.

"When you play a team like Ole Miss at the beginning of the season, I think it adds a little bit of excitement because it's something you can begin to focus on in the spring and use throughout the summer," he said. "When you play a big game like this early, I think it elevates your offseason program. It will be very exciting for us."

South Alabama is scheduled to begin its two-year transition to FBS play next season. It is expected to be a full member, eligible for bowl invitations and Sun Belt Conference championships, starting with the 2013 season.

Next season, the Jags have an 11-game schedule that includes teams such as North Carolina State, Kent State, Cal Poly, Texas-San Antonio, Georgia State and Lamar.